Hip flexor pain is an injury to your hip flexors, the muscles where your thigh meets your hip. It is one of the most common injuries for runners, and one of the most common injuries among athletes overall. Running and hip flexor pain is a very common problem among runners and research indicates that up to 11% of runners experience hip pain at some point due to their training.
However, this doesn’t have to impact your training completely. Discover how to relieve hip flexor pain and how physiotherapy can help.
Why Do I Get Hip Flexor Pain After Running?
Hip flexor pain is a common issue among runners and can be caused by a range of factors. The main one is repetitive strain caused by the repetitive movements in running and cycling, making it most common in avid runners and cyclists. This is also often known as overuse, which can cause inflammation, soreness and pain due to stretching the muscle fibres beyond their limits.
Another cause is a sudden increase in mileage, which can produce small tears known as strains. Muscle imbalances and poor biomechanics cause weakness or instability in the core muscles and can cause excessive anterior pelvic tilt, putting the hip flexors in a shortened overload position during repetitive movements like running, which causes pain in your hip flexors. If you don’t warm up properly before activity or have tight hip flexors from inactivity, it can make the muscles more susceptible to strains and increase your chances of developing hip flexor pain.
It is not advisable to run, workout or do intense exercise while you’re recovering from a hip flexor strain. If you start working out or playing sports again before your hip flexor is healed, there’s an increased chance you’ll reinjure it and do more harm to your muscle than the original strain.
3 Ways Physiotherapy Can Help With Running And Hip Flexor Pain
Physiotherapy is a holistic and evidence-based approach to the prevention and treatment of injuries. One of the most frequent complaints among runners is hip flexor pain. This can stem from overuse, muscle imbalances or poor biomechanics.
Physiotherapy not only treats the symptoms but also addresses the root cause, ensuring long-term recovery and prevention. Here are 3 ways that physiotherapy can prevent hip flexor pain whilst running:
1. Identify Root Cause
The first and most critical step in treating hip flexor pain is understanding why it’s happening. A physiotherapist will carry out a thorough assessment, examining your posture, running style, hip mobility and the overall alignment of your body. By pinpointing the exact factors causing the pain, your physiotherapist can develop a targeted treatment plan that not only relieves current discomfort but also prevents issues from recurring in the future.
Core weakness affects how your pelvis moves with each stride. Without good core control, the pelvis often tilts forward too much, placing the hip flexors in a shortened, overloaded position, a common cause of running and hip flexor pain.
This is where the expertise of a physiotherapist becomes essential. Through a combination of physical assessments, movement analysis, and functional testing, they can identify any muscles that are weak or underactive, which are tight or overcompensating, and how your running form may be contributing to the pain.
By addressing these root causes with a tailored treatment plan, including mobility work, strength training, and movement retraining, it can help relieve your current symptoms and prevent future hip flexor pain.
2. Hands-On Manual Therapy
Hands-on manual therapy is a vital component of physiotherapy treatment for running and hip flexor pain. It plays a crucial role in both symptom relief and long-term recovery.
This approach involves a range of specialised techniques performed by the physiotherapist to address soft tissue and joint dysfunctions that contribute to pain and restricted movement. Techniques such as deep tissue massage and myofascial release work to break down adhesions, release muscle tightness and ease tension within the hip flexor muscles and surrounding areas such as the quadriceps, lower back, and pelvis.
These manual techniques not only promote better alignment and function of the hip and pelvis but also increase blood flow, reduce inflammation, and stimulate the healing process. By improving mobility and reducing pain, manual therapy prepares the body for more active rehabilitation, helping you return to running pain-free and with greater confidence.
3. Targeted Exercise Rehabilitation
Targeted exercise rehabilitation is one of the most effective ways physiotherapy addresses and prevents hip flexor pain in runners.
Once the immediate pain in your hip flexor is managed, your physiotherapist will guide you through a personalised strengthening program designed to correct underlying weaknesses and imbalances.
Common culprits that lead to pain are weak glutes, underactive core muscles, and tight hamstrings or quads, as all of these can place excess stress on the hip flexors during running. A rehabilitation plan often includes dynamic stretching, mobility drills, and neuromuscular re-education to ensure that proper movement patterns are restored and reinforced.
These exercises not only help resolve current symptoms but also create a more resilient, efficient running technique that lowers the risk of future injury. With consistent guided training, runners such as yourself can build a strong, stable foundation that supports high performance and long-term joint health.
Let Us Help Get Your Running Back on Track
Hip flexor pain doesn’t need to impede your running performance or goals. With the right physiotherapy expertise, training plan, and rehabilitation, you will be better prepared to take on more challenges and achieve your running milestones.
At True Physio, we understand how disappointing it can be to have to completely stop running. Instead, our physiotherapists want to help you with load management and figure out the best roadmap to recovery without having to put a pause to your training. Whether that is bringing you into our rehabilitation gym or providing a recovery plan, ultimately, we want to help you run pain-free.
With 9 clinics around the UK, our physiotherapists are trained and qualified to assess, diagnose, and treat any of your injuries. We also provide a wide range of treatment options for runners, including our Sports Pass: an assessment and treatment bundle designed to help runners who are committed to recovery get the treatment they need and save money.
Let us kickstart your journey to stronger hips and pain-free running today by booking an appointment with us.